We are fated to encounter almost the whole spectrum of Mother Nature\u2019s bounty.\u00a0 Today it\u2019s rain.\u00a0 And lightning.\u00a0 Then more rain.\u00a0 And for some fun \u2013 torrential rain.\u00a0 \u00a0Darold takes Dante up above to take a shower in the rain.\u00a0 He delights in splashing in the rainwater that has collected in the sides of the boat and declares it the best shower he\u2019s ever had.<\/p>\n
Most of the day we stay down below due to the lightning.\u00a0 We try not to get too close to the mast (editor’s note (Darold) – the lightning wasn’t even remotely close. \u00a0A little dramatic writing on Jen’s part – but hey she tells a good story). \u00a0 I do a thorough cleaning of the boat.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019m OCD \u2013 but it makes me feel better to have Benevento \u201cship shape.\u201d\u00a0 Plus, there was seawater sprayed everywhere after our bout sailed the papagayos.\u00a0 I decide to bake brownies as a mid-passage treat. The lightning gets worse and we talk about how we would have to put all of the portable electronics in the oven to protect them from a lightning strike if it increases.\u00a0 Only now, the oven is hot from the brownies.\u00a0 I sit in front of the oven, fanning out the heat, sweating.\u00a0 Have I mentioned how hot it is?\u00a0 I\u2019m not exactly sure what compelled me to make brownies.\u00a0 Perhaps delight in actually being hungry after two days of not eating.<\/p>\n
In the afternoon, while on watch, I notice the fuel gauge is below zero.\u00a0 Either the sensor is broken or we have reached the bottom of the tank.\u00a0 I suspect it\u2019s the former, but I wake Darold and we decide that now is as good a time as any to fill the tank with our jerry cans.\u00a0 It\u2019s raining lightly but the sea conditions are calm.\u00a0 For an hour we drift around while we slowly fill up the tank.\u00a0 While we\u2019re hunched over, siphoning the fuel from jug to boat Darold says to me, \u201cYou know, real courage is when you are scared of something and you do it anyway.\u00a0 You have real courage.\u201d\u00a0 I swear it must be the lack of sleep because I want to cry again.<\/p>\n
Later that evening Darold calls me and Dante above deck.\u00a0 Dolphins are surfing the bow and in the light of the moon their path makes a phosphorescent wake.\u00a0 No words to describe\u2026<\/p>\n